President Bush has announced his candidate for the position of CIA director: Porter Goss. Who is Porter Goss? According to Al Martin, Goss "is a former CIA agent, who left the CIA under clouded circumstances. He was a field agent, but was actually forced out because of a trail of bodies that got tagged to him, literally, all over the world." Martin goes on to note that Goss was involved in Iran-Contra profiteering with Jeb and Neil Bush and was implicated in Neil Bush's Destin Country Club development fraud. He was also involved with the fraud committed by Swissco Management concerning illicit "tax-swap" deals.

After leaving the CIA Goss became involved in Florida politics. As a local Florida politician, he voted to arm the Southwest Florida Regional Airport security guards with Uzi sub-machine guns. As a Florida congressman, Goss has assembled a far right voting record. His other claim to fame as a congressman is that he sponsored HR-3179, the Anti-Terrorism Intelligence Tools Improvement Act of 2003, previously known as Patriot II. He is also on record saying that he does not think that the revealing of Valerie Plame as a CIA agent does not merit an investigation. When asked if evidence existed that would warrant an investigation of the Plame affair, he stated, "Somebody sends me a blue dress and some DNA, I'll have an investigation."

While the CIA has a long and sordid history and is in many ways antithetical to the very notion of democracy, it is disturbing that the Bush Administration would nominate a man of such obvious partisan bias and questionable ethics to head the agency. Of course, given the Bush record of politicizing as many governmental functions to their own advantage as possible, the appointment of Porter Goss should not come as a surprise.